It is known that hernia is a pathological leakage of an internal organ from the cavity that normally contains it through an aperture, an anatomic channel or more generally a discontinuity in the tissues. This disease requires a surgical operation of hernioplasty during which a prosthesis for parietal reinforcement is implanted in the area affected by the hernia.
Numerous types of prostheses have been developed so far, as well as surgical methods in the aim to preserve the anatomical and functional structures of the body as much as possible, thus allowing to reduce pain and limitation in daily activities a patient may experience, as well as the incidence of relapses.
A tension free intervention method is known since 1974. This technique is based on the use of meshes having a high biocompatibility and ease of use in order to avoid anti-physiological tractions on the muscle aponeurotic structures in order to remarkably reduce the number of relapses compared to the techniques previously used. The method relies on the application of a possible prosthetic cap, better known as “plug”, in the weak area of the floor of the inguinal canal, as well as of a mesh having a standardized size and shape that is placed below the fascia of the external oblique muscle. This mesh is secured without tension by way of sutures to the surrounding muscle aponeurotic structures (Lichtenstein method) or is held in place exploiting the intra-abdominal pressure only (tension free and sutureless techniques of other authors). In all these cases a fibroblastic proliferation through the mesh holes and the formation of fibrin, which begin a few hours after surgery, associated with the subsequent precipitation of collagen, biologically seal the mesh in the seat where it is arranged, thus allowing to achieve a hernioplasty without tensions.